July’s CrowdStrike Outage Is Yet Another Reason Why You Need Travel Insurance

On July 19, CrowdStrike, a common provider of cybersecurity software, experienced a global outage that impacted everything from local emergency services to healthcare systems. The outage also grounded thousands of flights, leaving many travelers stranded.

Of course, widespread outages like this are pretty rare. But they can happen. So if you’re planning a trip, let this serve as yet another reason why you need travel insurance.

Don’t leave things to chance

The fact that the airline industry has become heavily dependent on technology isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But it also means that even if the weather is perfectly clear, and even if every single plane that’s scheduled to depart passes all of its inspections, thousands of flights could still face delays or cancellations due to the inability to access data on a computer.

It’s for this reason, among others, that it’s important to purchase travel insurance in the course of planning a trip. You just never know when you’re going to hit a snag. And you can’t rely on your airline to make things right financially in the event of a delayed or canceled flight.

To be clear, airlines generally do step up and compensate passengers whose flights are delayed substantially. If you’re supposed to fly somewhere on a Wednesday evening and your flight doesn’t end up departing until the following Thursday afternoon, you’ll often be entitled to a hotel stay and meal vouchers.

But — and this is a big but — that assumes you’re able to speak to an airline representative and get those arrangements put in place. During a period of mass delays and cancellations, good luck getting an airline representative on the phone.

And even if you’re at the airport, you might have to wait in a three-hour line to speak to someone in a position to help. If you have young kids or a medical condition, that may not be feasible. You may have to simply hail an Uber, find the closest hotel, and deal with those expenses yourself. So it’s good to have travel insurance in case you end up incurring costs your airline doesn’t want to pay for.

Remember, too, that travel insurance doesn’t just cover trip delays. For example, it’s not a given that your health insurance will pay for your care overseas. With travel insurance, you generally get protection in the event that you experience a medical emergency and need care abroad, or need to be transferred back to the U.S. for care.

Can your credit card serve as trip insurance?

That depends. Many credit cards — especially travel reward credit cards — offer built-in trip protection. If you get a travel credit card through a specific airline, for example, and then book your flight using that card, you’ll generally be covered for problems like flight delays and cancellations.

But the trip protection you get from your credit card may, in that situation, be limited to issues with a flight only. It may not cover you in the event of a healthcare emergency.

Now if you’re traveling domestically and have good trip protection through your credit card, that may be enough, since U.S. health insurance should be accepted anywhere within the country. But if you’re going abroad and your health insurance won’t work there, then it’s a good idea to buy travel insurance for protection from what could be catastrophic medical bills.

What will it cost you?

If you’re wondering how much travel insurance costs, Forbes Advisor says you can expect to pay 5% to 6% of the cost of your trip. So say you’ve purchased a flight and cruise costing $10,000. You might spend $500 to $600 on travel insurance, which isn’t a small amount of money. But that policy might serve as a lifeline if something goes very wrong.

Remember, too, that travel insurance can buy you peace of mind. So when you’re budgeting for a trip, it’s a good idea to also factor in the cost of a travel insurance policy.

Chances are, it won’t be a global IT outage that causes your next flight delay or cancellation. But remember, an outage at your local airport could be enough to disrupt your plans. So could a series of thunderstorms or an equipment malfunction. You don’t want to take the chance of incurring added costs due to circumstances you can’t control, so it’s a good bet to buy travel insurance and ensure that you’re covered either way.

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